Ulrica Eleonora, Queen of Sweden (1656-1693) c.1668
Watercolour on vellum | 7.2 x 6 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 420490
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This is a late work in watercolour on vellum by an artist, Pierre Signac, who was better known as one of the earliest exponents of miniature painting in enamel. He learned the art of enamel painting from Henri Toutin of Paris, and in 1647 was invited to Stockholm by Queen Christina of Sweden. He painted numerous portraits of Queen Christina and her successors Charles X Gustav and Charles XI, both in enamel and in watercolour on vellum, a technique which he learned from Alexander Cooper, the younger brother of Samuel Cooper, who also found patronage at the Swedish court. The miniature can probably be dated to c. 1668 and depicts Ulrica Eleonora, fourth daughter and sixth child of Frederick III and Sophia Amalia of Denmark, who married, in 1680, Charles XI, King of Sweden. For another miniature of the sitter by Signac, see 420682. Inscribed on the back in ink by a nineteenth-century hand: Ulrica Eleonora Princess of Denmark wife of Charles XI King of Sweden born 1656 died 1693.
Provenance
Perhaps acquired for the Royal Collection during the nineteenth century
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour on vellum
Measurements
7.2 x 6 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
8.3 x 7.1 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Reynolds 1999 : Reynolds, G., 1999. The Sixteenth & Seventeenth Century Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London – Reynolds 1999 254Cust 1910 : Cust, L., 1910. Windsor Castle: Portrait Miniatures, London – Cust 1910 39/12